Like this:

They didn’t deserve to die in their state of innocent bliss. The kids at that concert were just having a great time watching their idol Ariana Grande sing – I know I would have if I were there even if I wasn’t the biggest Ariana fan. I feel sympathy for all of those who lost their lives. It’s great that everyone came together and paid their tributes to the fallen in Manchester. Not to wish anything bad on anyone, but I do hope that whoever did this gets what’s coming for them: a lifetime of suffering and punishment. If they don’t care that a packed house of people, many of them children and teens, have their lives ended in a flash of a second, then why should we give them any forgiveness?

Today we band together for Manchester in the United Kingdom and hope that those that lost their loved ones can make it through their sadness and despair. Life will move on as usual but for the families of the victims, there will always be a gaping hole that can never be patched up. It’s another in a series of attacks in the UK that have happened on the 22nd. Why the 22nd? Is it just a coincidence? Or a deeper conspiracy? I don’t know but there are probably some good theories to it that I would love to explore.

Like this:

So it was another trip to FireKeeper’s Casino and Hotel in Battle Creek today. The enormous colorful sign on the side of the highway advertising it is hard to miss on the way there. More than 66,000 people pass that sign each day, which means most will get excited about the potential of winning a lot of money at the casino and will be going or think about going in the future.

When you walk through the front door of FireKeeper’s casino, you will immediately notice the large fiery orange pole going from floor to ceiling with a helical metal structure climbing around, to symbolize the flames of the firekeeper, referring the job a Native American would have in the tribe.

If there is one machine that I loved in this place and was doing really well for me and I wanted to find it again, it would be next to impossible to find it, because it’s a sea of machines with various bells and whistles and themes, most of which put the idea into your head that you could get rich quick just by playing.

Today was not my lucky day, though it was for my mom who won over a hundred dollars. Good for her on getting money that is basically free. I’m going to learn eventually that if I suddenly earn more than I came with I should just call it quits and walk away, but it’s the thought that I could win so much more and I could have a really lucky day at hand.

The train is moving again. The glorious sounds of the engine meshing with the blurring of the landscape as the Amtrak rushes, backwards from my seat position, through the countryside of Michigan, the lush forests, farms, and hills of an old land that reflects the early days of the state and even the country, when cities were few and far.

We’re packed up and ready for another trip down to Olathe, Kansas. This would be the 5th or 6th time that the family is headed down to the Heartland to see the youngest sister and her significant other, the first time being in the summer of 2014 when we visited the University of Kansas. Kansas is still quite new to us as we have only scratched the surface of it, having only been near the border cities and not into the deep part of the state.

The conductor checked my ticket again today, as he always does, scanning it and giving it back to me where I place it back in the top compartment of my luggage bag.

Because of Kansas, I get the song “Dust in the Wind” playing in my head, and eventually on my computer. It is a song symbolizing our short time on this earth, that in the end we are just made up of earth stuff, living our lives and then being recycled back into the environment, continuing the cycle. We rent a period of time here to do as much as we can, to explore and learn about our history and what is beyond our imagination. The band is actually from Topeka, Kansas and released “Dust in the Wind” in 1977. The title comes from a passage in the Bible by Ecclesiastes:

I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded:

Everything he has accomplished is futile — like chasing the wind!

In the end, everything we do, all the money we may or may not have, doesn’t matter one little bit, because all of it doesn’t go with us. The only thing we can hold onto are our hopes and dreams and to believe that there is more to life than just living and dying.

It sure is a big break from me playing video games for many hours straight, only getting up once in a while to eat something or use the facilities. I’ve become so addicted to playing Batman: Arkham Knight, the explosive finale in the Arkham series of games. Probably one of the best games I’ve played in a while, besides Skyrim, which is why I’ve had a hard time putting it down, because there is so much to see and do. From what I know so far, near 90% completion of the game, it is the ending stories of several high profile criminals in Gotham, and they all get locked up in prison, though I’m not sure yet if they escape or get released by some outside help.

For now, I continue to listen to the train’s whistle as it rumbles down the track. The usual route is stopping in Chicago at Union Station and then taking a bus to Wisconsin, but that is not the case this time. It will be a longer train ride to Lawrence, Kansas, going through a lot of flat farmland in Illinois and Missouri. It sure is a lot better than driving down there, which is what we did the first time, staring at boring scenery for hours and hours, but I remember it fondly and cherish every moment of it.

Soccer is a graceful sport, a sport of finesse and planning a strategic way to the goal. It is known as a beautiful sport because of the graceful and fluid movements involved in the game. The sport is celebrated with a religious passion and many people that enjoy the sport die loving it. I love that the sport has finally started to gain traction in America, and has become more popular than before. When I see people, like this guy, wearing gear from some of soccer’s (football’s) top powers, it makes me happy because a rich tradition and culture is being welcomed. Soccer is the world’s sport, played in more countries than any other.

An historic era, while filled with its ups and downs, is finally coming to an end.

Barack Obama has just six days left in office until the torch is passed to the new guy in charge, Donald J. Trump. Then we are left wondering just what exactly will happen in the next four years with the new President and if he will be any more effective than the previous commander in chief was.

It’s been an entertaining eight years with this man, a great man no doubt, who is also remembered for a former pastime of his. A lot has changed during those long eight years, starting way back when I was in eleventh grade. Probably the biggest thing to have happened was the successful elimination of Osama bin Laden and the ending of most of the War in Iraq (a few battles still going on). The biggest flop of the eight year run was Obamacare obviously, but still will be remembered as a significant part of history for years to come.

I really feel like Barack Obama should get a statue or something, maybe get on a piece of currency. I mean, he was the first African-American president elected and helped open up new opportunities for other races to run for president. He is symbolic of just how far African-Americans have come in being accepted in this country. I know he wasn’t the greatest president and a lot of his promises were empty-handed, but there are a lot of things he can lay claim to in this era such as:

The first president to have a Twitter account and send out a tweet (can you imagine George Washington doing that?)

The first president to talk with people on YouTube.

The first president to use Instagram.

The first president to own a smartphone.

The first president to be apart of the modern Internet language today, with words such as “follow” “hashtag” “like” “share” and “retweet”.

I give my final farewell to Barack, Michelle, and the rest of the Obama family as they move on to their future lives. The United States and the world has forever been changed by their contributions to society.